 Now if I had to pick one factor as to why Kipchoge broke through the two-hour barrier, it would be good morning everyone from Vienna. That's right. I'm still here for one more day and then heading to Amsterdam tomorrow. So getting a lot of comments and thank you everyone for watching and I know we're talking about Kipchoge a lot here on the vlog and the reason being is because it's a big deal. It's a big event. It's been a huge, as I mentioned yesterday, huge month for the long-distance running world and community with all the world records and now this sub-two-hour effort from Kipchoge. So in the comments over the past two or three days, a lot of you have been asking for my thoughts and opinions on the sub-two-hour effort from Kipchoge. So that's what today's entire vlog is going to be here in this beautiful park. I'm going to sit here and just break it down with all of you and we might get into the Nike AlphaFly racing shoes I should say that Kipchoge wore two days ago and also the reason I'm doing this now is that I wanted a couple days to let it process, to think about this effort and just process the entire production really because it was not just Kipchoge. It was a huge team of people that pulled off this effort here in Vienna. On October 12th, I'll just put it out there right now for the sake of history. It was October 12th, 2019, here in Vienna. Okay, but first, many of you know I studied history at the University of Colorado. Therefore, I want to take a historical approach to what happened here three days ago. And here's what's really interesting about chasing down and breaking through the two-hour barrier in the marathon, is that this may have happened years ago if it weren't for this fact of history. Queen Alexandra in 1908, so the Olympics were going to be held in London and they were and basically she requested that the marathon be extended from 25 miles. And so the marathon distance was never really solidified. Actually, it happened officially in 1921. But in 1908, Queen Alexandra said, okay, I want the marathon to finish in the Olympic Stadium in front of the royal box. So they changed the course and then actually extended the course to finish around the stadium and enter a new entrance and then go half a lap around the track so that I would finish right in front of where she would be sitting. And that is how we get the official distance of today of 26.2 miles. Now, if that would not have happened, if she would have not made this request, the two-hour barrier would have been much easier to push through and break through probably by, I was looking at the stats earlier, probably by either Paul Turgat or Hailey Geversalassi in the probably in the early 2000s. And who knows, maybe it would have even happened earlier in the late 90s. And so that little fact of history is just so cool because it basically extended the life of this chasing down and breaking through this two-hour barrier, which now we know Ellie Kipchoge has done. But I'm going to address maybe the elephant in the room right now. This was not a world record. And I think the approach that Kipchoge took to this attempt mentally was in the right frame of mind to accept the fact that this is not going to be a world record because it was not in an official race. And in fact, I'm actually struggling to call this an a race. Some people are, and in fact, I think it was being labeled a race. I'm calling it more of an effort because there were no other competitors around Kipchoge. Now, listen, he was racing the clock. I get it. But at the end of the day, in the spirit of competition, how I approach racing is where you have your fellow man and your fellow woman next to you on the starting line and you're gunning for it. And you're competing. And that's what's beautiful about the human spirit is that we love to compete. And that is how I, I guess, categorize or define racing. And so I'm going to be calling this more of an effort over a race over the next couple of minutes. Now, at the end of the day, for this INEOS 159 challenge, I do believe that Kipchoge's frame of mind was in the right place. I do think that he wanted to, and he did, he accomplished it. I do believe he wanted to inspire others to dream big, to chase down their dreams, to believe that no human is limited as the hashtag was used for the event. And I love that. Like, I think that's what we connect with here on this YouTube channel. Like, we can chase down small dreams and huge dreams. And frankly, at the end of the day, I think the small dreams are almost more important than the big dreams. Those little dreams every single day that we can push ourselves to become better human beings. So this INEOS 159 challenge, which again, just a huge production, lots of money, I think they wanted at the end of the day to kind of like, you know, like I've been saying, like Roger Bannister breaking through the four minute barrier. That was a feat that was thought to be maybe not possible. But then he did it. And sure enough, a slew of other runners ended up doing it shortly thereafter. So maybe Kipchoge has planted the seed in many runners and elite runners minds that, hey, I can break through the two hour barrier as well. And I'll just say right now, I think on the women's side of marathon running with Bridget Cosgate breaking through the world record yesterday in Chicago at the Chicago Marathon. I'm wondering now if other elite women marathon runners are wondering, wait a minute, maybe I can take down that world record because it stood for so long, 16 years. And I'm just wondering, is there a mark like two hours and 10 minutes that the women's marathon elite runners, now I know two hours and 10 minutes is absolutely insane because that's four minutes faster than the current world record. But hey, it's like now, I don't know, I just put it out there right now. The sky is the limit. And that is where I think Kipchoge really nailed it by trying to really emphasize and focus not so much on the two hour barrier, but rather really if we dream big, we can accomplish great, great things. Now, why was Kipchoge actually successful in 2019 versus 2017? He missed it by 25 seconds. So here are my seven points that we're going to run through. Okay, we're going to talk about Kipchoge, the actual runner. We're going to talk about the training. We're going to talk about the tactics on the actual day, the course, the weather, the fueling plan, and the shoes. Okay, so let's talk about Kipchoge. First of all, he's from Kenya. He grew up at 6,500 feet above sea level. So he grew up in a high altitude environment, which really, really helps. As you all know, training and living at altitude creates huge benefits for your aerobic endurance. First of all, it recruits more red blood cells. So basically your body can carry more oxygen to your muscles during a hard effort like what he just did three days ago. Now, as far as the training goes, it sounds like Kipchoge had a great block of training at the beginning. I watched on YouTube like the first month was pretty easy. He was laying the foundation for the hard stuff later. I love that. That's how I love to train. Easy miles early in a training block. So it sounds like the training block was not 12 weeks, but closer to 16 weeks, according to the reports I saw online. And yes, Kipchoge has been, he's been coached by Patrick saying, hi, he's been coached by Patrick saying four, I believe 20 years now. So he's had a very consistent presence in his life for years and years. Now, I did not know this, but Kipchoge did not, didn't know his father. So Patrick saying is really a father figure to Kipchoge. And he's been, he's been coaching him for years and years now, years and years now, which is huge for, for a runner's confidence in his training. All right. And point number three, the racing tactics. So the pacemakers were critical. There was 41 pacemakers there to support Kipchoge's efforts. And they rotated out of the reverse flying V formation every about every 5k. So the reason they did this is to help Kipchoge, of course, break through the air because of the, the, the wind resistance and the air resistance in cycling. This is critical. So in the Peloton, when you're watching a cycling race or a bike race, the drag of the runners in the back of the Peloton can be reduced because of the cyclists in the front by 50 to 70%. Now, in running, it's, it's reduced a lot that percentage because of the speeds is much less, but it's still significant. And not to mention, did you notice not only was there the lead pace car with the official time on top, there was three or four cars and not to mention the motorcycles. So I think all of those cars plus the pacemakers was essentially creating a little bit of a miniature wind tunnel for Kipchoge to run in. And leaning into the scientists out there, if you have a little more science background than I do, could you explain in the comments the reverse flying V? I was a little surprised that it was not a traditional flying V that you would see with geese flying through the sky. So anyway, just an observation there. Okay, the course, long straight aways. I think that was critical compared to Monza Italy two years ago. The long straight aways like turns on a course. And I'm just going to say right now, for somebody to break the two hour barrier in an actual race like Berlin or London or Chicago, I think, I think the biggest determined determining factor could be the course and the fact that you have to make so many turns in a traditional marathon racing course. So the course, the long straight aways, absolutely critical. Okay, the weather. This is what I said on the morning of the INEOS 159 challenge. I was a little concerned. My weather app says it's about 93% humidity right now at six AM. So that's that's a pretty high that has me a little concerned. And then the commentators also said this comment is the current weather. Well, almost perfect, a little bit more humid at 90% than was expected and was wanted. But Ellie Kipchogi, I'm sure we'll be able to to cope with that. And did it matter in the end? No, it did not. It turned out to drizzle just a little bit for just a brief moment. It drizzled, but it didn't rain hard. There was really no wind to speak of. And I think that would have been the biggest determining factor is the wind. If there would have been any sort of breeze that would have been really difficult, I think, to still break through the two hour barrier. And point number six, the fueling plan. So Kipchogi was drinking the Morton drink mix, which I'll be using in Amsterdam. He was taking in 800 grams of carbs in a 500, a 500 milliliter drink with those bottles. You can see it there. He's drinking it back and it sits in my stomach really well. Obviously it worked for Kipchogi. And I don't know how often he was taking bottles, but that is one of the biggest reasons this was not an official marathon world record is you cannot receive outside aid from somebody handing you bottles from a from a bike. Like that's one of the biggest reasons this is not considered a world record. And point number seven, the last factor to consider for why Ellie Kipchogi broke through the sub two hour marathon, the shoes. It's huge. It looks like there's a lot of updates from the Nike next percent to the Nike Alpha Fly. Supposedly that is the name of the new shoe, the Nike Alpha Fly. I've heard that there's three carbon fiber plates in the shoe. I've heard that there's four pockets of air in the shoe at the bottom, right at the forefoot there. You can actually see it on your screen. And I've heard that the stack height is increased as well. So more zoom X foam, all of these. And I'm sure the shoes are ever so slightly lighter than the Nike next percent. You can't deny at this point that the technology of these new shoes from Nike is helping runners race faster. So I put that as the seventh and final factor for why Kipchogi broke through the sub two hour marathon barrier. Now, if I had to pick one factor as to why Kipchogi broke through the two hour barrier, it would be the training. And when I say training, I'm actually talking about patience, time, development, aerobic development. Two years ago, he didn't get it. Now there was a lot of, you know, why did he not two years ago? Was it the course? The Monza Italy course? I don't know. Was it the weather? A little more humid? I don't know. But I'm going to attribute the reason Kipchogi was able to accomplish this goal is because of his patience and time. And yes, commitment to the training over the long haul. I think Kipchogi could have done this in the 4% flying it the shoe from two years ago or from 2018, I should say, yeah, two years ago. I think Kipchogi could have broken through the two hours by grabbing a water bottle off of a table rather than somebody handing him a bottle. I do. But here is what is crazy. Everyone Kipchogi looked fresh at the end of this effort compared to Monza. He looked like he crossed the finish line and he did not fall onto the ground. Okay. I think he could have held that pace for another mile or two at least. I'm not, I'm just saying like he looks so in control. He broke it by 20 seconds. He didn't break it by five seconds or three seconds or one second. Like he had more in the tank. And so here's my bold prediction. I think that without the Pacers, without the Pacers breaking the air in front of him, without the cyclists or the bikers handing him bottles, I think he could run even faster with the K. Lay next to him. I think those two, battling mono in mono on the same course, on the same day in the same weather, I think they would have run even faster. I think they would have shaved off another 20 seconds run right about 15910. That is my big and bold prediction. It's that spirit of competition. I just think, I don't know, and I know that's kind of stepping out there, but I think we all are hoping for a B. K. Lay versus Kipchogi showdown in 2020. That is my hope. That's kind of why I'm resisting calling this INEOS 159 challenge a race because I want to see those two battle it out, mono in mono in 2020. So with that said, again, congratulations to Kipchogi and the entire team that helped pull this off. Absolutely inspiring. You just opened up the doors for so many other runners to dream big in the future. And frankly, that is what it's all about. I hope you are inspired out there who were able to watch this event, whether it was live on YouTube or in person or watching the highlights on this channel. I just, I'm pumped up and yes, I'm getting excited for my own marathon in Amsterdam. Okay. Question of the day. What are your thoughts? What is your opinion on Kipchogi's effort? Or if you want to call it a race, you can do that too. Just give us your overall thoughts on the entire event, the fact that he actually did it. Maybe some thoughts on the future with B. K. Lay. I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. Thank you for watching. And yes, we're going to toss it back to Kipchogi's sub two hour effort on the right and on the left. We're going to throw it back to Kipchogi's race in London, his last official marathon race in London last spring on the left there. All right, you guys rock. Thanks for being here. Seek beauty, work hard and love each other. See you tomorrow.